We’ll send you the time your swarm will meet and instructions for logging in to UNU.

Join your swarm at your assigned time and make your picks.

Swarms will be making picks March 13-16, in advance of the first tip-off on Thursday March 17.

Each person must register individually. If you have a group to swarm with, provide the name of your group when you register and we’ll make sure you’re all assigned together. Otherwise, we’ll assign you to a swarm.

Brackets will be scored based on correctly picking game winners. The swarm with the bracket that has the most points at the end of the Tournament will win $1,000. Bracket scoring: First Round, 1 point per correct pick; Second Round, 2 points per correct pick; Sweet 16, 4 points; Elite 8, 8 points; Final Four, 16 points; Championship, 32 points. Tie-breaker is the swarm’s prediction of the combined total points of the Championship game. The prize will be awarded to the winning swarm and equally split among members.

Why are we doing this?

The results from Swarm Madness will help researchers at the Marrist College for Sports Communication better understand group decision-making, and the potential for regular fans to exceed expert level performance by working together in real-time.

How long will it take?

We estimate that it will take about an hour for a swarm to pick all 63 games.

How many people should be in a swarm?

A swarm must have a minimum of 7 members to be eligible for prizes. There is no maximum (a swarm can be as big as you want).